


Azula Week 2019

by Charlitflair



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Azula (Avatar) Redemption, Azula Week 2019, F/M, Gen, Sokkla
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-15
Updated: 2019-07-21
Packaged: 2020-06-29 01:28:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19819714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Charlitflair/pseuds/Charlitflair
Summary: My pieces for Azula Week 2019, I hope you all enjoy celebrating Azula’s amazing character with me this week!





	1. Ruby Red Tattoo Shop

“You know I don’t think any of us ever imagined you turning out like this,” Zuko says softly as he takes in his sister’s office. The artwork covered the room from the floor to the ceiling, none of the original wallpaper could be seen. Instead, you saw all of Azula’s artwork, the rough sketches and the paintings that she worked on for weeks, the doodles that were done while waiting for her next client and the messes of paint and fire that were thrown together in some of her fits of rage. Everything Azula was and wasn’t covered that room completely, a full expression of what Azula was actually like. What she liked, disliked, felt was surrounding them both. Those walls showed him a completely different person from the Azula he had known in the palace, the Azula he had grown up with, was jealous of, had feared and had overcome. The Azula that was perfect and exact, the Azula who always had a plan and never failed, the Princess Azula. 

“Yeah, well neither did I Zuzu,” She scoffs back, keeping her eyes glued to her paper as she continued to draw her latest piece of work. She had a client coming tomorrow and she wanted every line of this tattoo to be perfect. She never gave her clients anything less than perfect. She couldn’t let herself.

“I didn’t even know you could draw like this,” The Fire Lord continues to look around her office, at the intricate pieces of artwork that surrounded him. Never in a million years could he see his sister being an artist, she had never shown an interest in art and for her to grow into not only an artist but a tattoo artist was a shock to everyone. The sounds of her brush moving over the paper were the only sounds that filled the room and Zuko couldn’t help but feel awkward. As if he was with a stranger and not his sister. 

“There is a lot that you don’t know about me. It’s not like you ever tried anyways,” While the response sounds nonchalant leaving Azula’s mouth, it hit Zuko like a ton of bricks. 

“Azula, that isn’t-” 

“Nope, stop right there,” Azula finally looks up at him, a glare fixed on her face and heat surrounding them suddenly. This was the face he was used to, the glare, the anger, the preciseness of every feature of her. And this was the Azula that she was trying to let go. A sigh leaves her mouth and she shakes her head for a moment. “Do not come in here, into my home and business and try to act like we were something we weren’t. That you were some sort of caring brother or that Ursa cared or that anyone in the godforsaken palace gives a damn about me. If you want to come here and check in on me, make sure this isn't just a cover for my plot to take back the throne, go ahead. Want to watch me do what I do best because you’re interested, fine. But don’t try to make some petty excuses when I say nothing but the truth Zuko,” She tells him, the heat leaving the room as quickly as it had appeared and the fallen princess picks up her paintbrush again, resuming the stroke she had left off on. She wanted to get as much done as she could before her client for today arrived. And she didn’t want the stress or discomfort of Zuko hanging over her. She didn’t need to make any mistakes today. She would not let Zuko and his nonsense throw her off. 

Zuko stared at his sister for a while after her harsh glare had left her face and her focus had returned to her artwork. Azula was right, back then he hadn’t cared much, his jealousy got in the way of him caring. Caring the way he should have. And after learning about how Ozai truly treated Azula behind closed doors, he only feels guiltier that he hadn’t cared more. 

He was distracted by his own thoughts that he barely heard Azula speak up until she repeated herself, “How long are you staying in town this time Zuzu?” She asks him and he clears his throat before answering her. “Not long just until tomorrow. I just wanted to check in before I continued my journey to Ba Sing Se.”

“All alone this time?” She asked, her tone almost curious. 

“The Gaang decided to look around the shops around the city.” He answers and she nods. 

“No one wanted to accompany you on your visit to your crazy sister huh?” She says with her usual smirk but he shook his head. 

“Azula you know that’s-“

“Zuzu I’m kidding, I wouldn’t want them here anyways. Why are you so defensive?” She says and Zuko frowns. 

“Because I want you to feel welcome at home and with us,“ Zuko tells her genuinely and Azula rolls her eyes.

“You’ve never tried before so why try now. I am fine where I am-“ Before Azula could finish her sentence the bell above the front door rang and she sighed. She knew exactly who walked through that door. It was her client for the day and she had hoped that Zuko would be gone before she had gotten here. The woman was a dear friend and Azula didn’t need Zuko ruining things for her. 

“Who is that?” The Fire Lord asked and Azula puts down her paint brush, closing her jar of ink as she ignores Zuko’s question. She stands from her seat and goes to the shelf on the other side of the room, finding her box of tattoo supplies and the drawing she was looking for. She turns around and looks at him, irritation forming on her face. 

“That is my client for the day so you’re either going to leave or sit out there silently and watch me do what I do.” She explains quickly, her voice reminding him of how she used to sound and he nods, moving towards the door of the office so he didn’t irritated her further. Azula leaves her office and is almost knocked to the ground when her client hugs her. 

“Azula!! I haven’t seen you in months! How are you?” Imi asks excitedly, still holding her in a tight hug. 

“I have been good Imi, I’d be better if you weren’t crushing my lungs.” Azula breathes out and her fellow firebender lets go of her. 

“Oh sorry, I just missed you is all.” She laughs and then looks up to see Zuko standing in the corner. She gasps and instantly bows for the Fire Lord. 

“Oh you don’t have to do that.” Azula groans as she moved to her chair and table, setting her things down. Azula watched as Zuko turned red and Imi continue to bow. She shook her head and began set up for Imi’s tattoo, ignoring the foolishness that was taking place. Her friend only wanted a small fire lily on her back, nothing too difficult but she still took it very seriously. 

“What do you mean, it’s the Fire Lord, of course I have to bow.” Imi tells her and Azula rolls her eyes. 

“It’s just Zuko, he’s nothing special,” Azula says indifferently. Zuko makes a face before sitting in a chair on the side. 

“It’s an honor to meet you, Fire Lord Zuko,” Imi tell Zuko and he smiles at her. 

“The honor is all mine. It is not often I get to meet one of Azula’s friends.” Zuko starts. “Actually, how did you become friends with Azula?” He asks and she smiles brightly.

“I met her in the Asylum, at first she was a little reserved but one day she helped me with a particularly rude guard and we’ve been friends ever since. She’s the best friend I’ve ever had,” Azula freezes at Imi’s answer. She could feel Zuko’s eyes on her as she takes a breath and recomposes herself before finishing up her set up process. She hadn’t expected Imi to say that, sure they were close but Azula didn’t think she was her best friend. She thought Imi would have friends all over, friends kinder and better suited for Imi than her. 

“Your best friend huh?” He comments and Imi nods, a bright smile taking over her face. 

“Of course. She’s the best person ever, don’t you think?” Imi says as she starts to walk over to the chair and got in position for the tattoo. She removed her top shirt, leaving her in her wrappings that covered her chest, just enough room for the Fire Lily to go on her shoulder blade. She lays down on the chair on her stomach and turns her head to look at Azula who had a frown on her face. “What’s wrong Zula?” Imi asks and Azula looks her, her features softening as she looked at her friend. 

“It’s nothing, you ready for this?” She answers and in turn asks, and Imi nods. 

“Of course, I’m so excited!” Imi answers and Azula smiles. 

“Well then let’s get started,” Azula says. She wipes Imi’s back with the alcohol to sterilize it before placing the ink stamp on her back. The ink takes and there’s a nice outline of the flower on her back. The former princess used her firebending to sterilize the needle she planned on using before taking the first dip into the permanent ink. 

Zuko watches as Azula begins to pierce Imi’s skin with the ink covered needle. The girl didn’t seem to be in too much pain though this was clearly not Imi’s first tattoo. The girl’s arms had a ton of them which seemed out of character for a girl as bubbly and happy as her. He paid attention to Azula’s every move as she traced every line perfectly, nothing out of place. It took over two hours for her to complete the piece of art, layer after layer until the ink was dark on Imi’s tan fair fire nation skin. Azula hadn’t even broken a sweat and quickly cleaned off the tattoo before rubbing some cream over the area. She allowed Imi look at the tattoo in the mirror and as soon as Imi saw it, she wrapped Azula in a tight hug again. 

“Oh I love it so much Zula, it’s gorgeous! You never let me down, ” Azula stiffens for a second before relaxing into her hug. She could feel Zuko’s eyes on them which made her uncomfortable but she wasn’t going to let him ruin the moment. 

“I’m glad you like it. You deserve nothing but the best.” Azula tells her. Azula begins cleaning up around her area before looking back at Zuko. 

“Done enough snooping for today. Finally sure I’m not on a rampage,” Azula asks him and he sighs. 

“Azula you know that’s not why I’m here, it’s never why I’m here, not anymore. I’m just making sure you’re okay.” Zuko tells her and Azula shakes her head.

“Sure zuzu, and I’m a flying Bison.” She responds sarcastically. 

“You know I actually came to invite you back to the palace, we’re having a dinner in honor of the 10 year since the end of the war and I want you to be there.” He tells her and her guard instantly rises back up at the mention of the war. 

“Why would I come to that. To be surrounded by people who hate me. I’ll pass,” She dismisses it quickly to keep her emotions in check. She really didn’t want to be having this conversation in front of Imi. Not that she was embarrassed but her past was not something she was proud of and didn’t need to be mentioned in front of the only friend she had. 

“Fine Azula, i just thought I’d ask anyway. I actually think it’s time I’d head back to the inn before they send Aang looking for me.” He tells her and she scoffs. 

“We wouldn’t want them getting the idea that I killed you now would we.” She mutters and Zuko sighs. 

“It was a pleasure meeting you Imi,” He says with a small smile before moving towards the door. “I’ll be back in two months Azula and the offer still stands, you can come home to the palace any time you’d like.” He tells her firmly before leaving out of the door. 

A ragged breath leaves Azula’s mouth as she turns to look at Imi. The girl has a sympathetic look on her face and it makes Azula uncomfortable. She could tell that Imi wants to say something but doesn’t know if she should. 

“Go ahead, say it.” Azul tells her and Imi nods. 

“I think you should go.” Imi rushes out and Azula’s eyes widened. Out of all of the things she could have said, she didn’t expect that. 

“I can give you a thousand reasons why I shouldn’t go.” Azula tells her and Imi nods. 

“I know but I can tell he really misses you. Sure it had been bad but it’ll never get better if you don’t try.” Imi tells her and she pauses. The girl had a point but why try, she knew that they’d always view her as a monster. 

“Maybe so but I’d rather keep what I have than risk losing it for people who will never truly accept me.” Azula tells Imi, who sighs. 

“I just think you shouldn't give up yet.” Imi tells her and moves to carefully put her top shirt back on. Once it’s on she looks at Azula again with a small smile. “Just think about it, okay,” She tells her and Azula nods. 

“Okay.” Azula agrees, “Will you still come to help me with the shop tomorrow?” She asks and Imi nods. 

“Of course! I’ll be here bright and early!” Imi smiles and Azula smiles back. 

“Thank you Imi, so I’ll see you tomorrow.” Azula tell her, her voice lighter than it had been. She never expected to have a friend like Imi but she was so glad she did.

“See you tomorrow Zula!” Imi tells her before leaving out of the shop. 

Azula begins to clean up the shop so she could close for the day, she couldn’t help but to think about what Imi said. Maybe she should take him up on his offer to visit the palace, maybe Imi was right and he truly missed her and wanted to get to know her. But she was fine where she was, she had Imi, she had her shop. What else did she need, she never had a true family so why did she need one now.


	2. Dinner Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day two for Azula Week 2019, post canon Azula.

“You know it wouldn't hurt if you came out of your room and ate dinner with us for a change. We don’t bite,” Sokka says as he approaches Azula in the hallway. 

“Shouldn't you be scared of me? My bite is far worse than you think.” Azula smirks and Sokka shakes his head at her. 

“I’m not scared of you Azula, at least not in this moment.” Sokka chuckles and Azula pauses for a second. It wasn’t the first time someone had told her that but the way he said it was different. It wasn’t with malice or hatred but just casual tone. As if they were friends. Almost. 

“Well you should be.” She mutters, her initial response thrown off by how carefree he was around her. She starts to walk away and to her displeasure she heard his footsteps following behind her. 

“I mean but why would you want that. There’s no fun in that.” He says and she tries her hardest to ignore him. “You know, I think we would have been good friends had we been on the same team.” He tells her and a scoff leaves her mouth. 

“Yeah sure, whatever you say.” She says, her interest in whatever Sokka was saying was withering by the second. She simply wanted to go back to her room so she could enjoy her night in peace but the water tribe fool had other plans for her. 

“C’mon don’t you get lonely?” He asks and she groans. Her patience was withering just as quickly as her interest. She had books to read and…and...well she didn’t have anything else to do but that's besides the point. She just wanted to get back to her room and be left alone. 

“No I do not get lonely and I don’t think it would matter if I did.” She tells him and she notices that he pauses for a moment. 

“Well why wouldn’t it matter?” Another groan leaves Azula’s mouth as he asks another question she didn’t want to answer. She was three seconds away from incinerating him with her bending but that option would get her in the first boat back to the asylum and she’d rather deal with the peasant over that hell. 

“Well let’s see, I have no friends, no acquaintances, I would hardly call Zuko and a mother who wants nothing to do with me a family so if I did get lonely, which I don’t, it would not matter. Is that what you wanted to hear?” Azula tells, filling her voice with ice as he stared at her in shock. “So if you don’t excuse me, I’d like to go back to my room, alone!” Azula quickly walks off while Sokka is frozen in place, hoping to finally be done with conversing with him. Like she said, she had books to read. 

A week had passed since the last time Sokka had seen Azula in the hallways and he couldn’t let it go. There’s no way she doesn’t get lonely, even someone like Azula has to feel alone from time to time. So came up with the most reckless plan he could have thought of. He hadn’t done something this wild since the war but he couldn’t let it go. 

He was going to eat dinner with her.

In her room. 

He was pretty sure that he would end up burned somehow during this but he wouldn’t die. At least he didn’t think she’d kill him but the look she gave him last week looked deadly enough. He shook his head as the thought went through his mind. But he couldn’t help this feeling to try, at least once because sometimes it only takes one time. 

Sokka knew that she usually has a servant bring her food to her room so he decided that he would bring it himself. Along with his own plate piled high with food of course. The servant had some hesitancy when he asked to take Azula’s food to her, the woman nearly cried at the thought of getting on the princess’ bad side. 

Clearly Azula hadn’t lost her touch, Sokka thought before calming the servant and assuring her it was okay and that her take the blame for it. Once he had the cart with food, he carefully made his way towards Azula’s room, trying not to make a mess or get lost in the process. Once he made it there, he took a breath before knocking on the door. He could hear her rustling around for a few moments before the door is opened. He sees Azula there except this time she isn’t in her usual armor that she wore, instead she had on a loose dark red top and pants to match. Her hair was messier than he ever expected to see it but somehow it was refreshing. She didn’t look nearly as intimidating as she usually looked. 

“What the hell are you doing with my food?” 

There goes that intimidation. If looks could kill, Sokka thought as an awkward smile graces his face. 

“Well after our conversation last week, I thought you could use some company during dinner.” He tells her and her eyes widen.

“What about our conversation last week gave you that impression?” She asks him and he shrugged. 

“The fact that you lied about being lonely.” He says and her mouth shuts. 

How dare he, Azula thought. She narrowed her eyes at him before letting an angry sigh leave her lips.

“You will not be joining me for dinner tonight or any night and if you ever try something like this again, I’ll make sure there’s nothing left of you but ashes.” She tells him before taking her dinner into her room and slamming the door shut. 

Sokka stood outside her door, staring at where Azula was just standing and he shook his head.

“Well that went a lot better than expected .” Sokka says to himself before deciding to take his food back into the dining room to eat with his friends.

Her attitude didn’t stop him from trying again. And again. And again. 

Every day that week, Sokka managed to trick a servant into letting him take Azula’s food to her room and every time she snatched her food from the tray and slammed the door shut in his face until tonight. 

Tonight was different.

When he knocked on the door, the usual rustling didn’t hit his ears, almost no noise followed the sounds of his knocks. Confused, he knocked again and waited to hear the sounds of Azula’s footsteps or anything that signaled she was coming to the door. He heard a groan and then it went silent again. He listened again and he could hear a faint, “I’m not hungry.” From the other side of the door. 

Well that’s a first, Sokka thought before going to knock again. Instead of his hand making contact with the heavy wooden door, it stopped just as the door swung open and he was met by a distressed and almost tearful Azula. She looked at him in shock, clearly not expecting him to still be there. She quickly wiped her face and straightened her posture before glaring at him. 

“You’re lucky I don’t kill you where you stand. Leave me alone peasant, I am not in the mood.” Sokka frowned, taking a step back from the irate princess. Sure he had seen her angry before but this was different, this was more than her usual anger. This was distress. 

“I’m sorry, I leave you alone, just make sure you eat alright.” He tells her softly. He knew this was not the time to push her buttons. 

Azula stares at him as he walks away without his own food, something she would have never expected from the glutton. This awful feeling filled the pit of her stomach and she let out a groan before rubbing her face. She would have never cared about this before but now she can’t help this nagging feeling as she watched him walk away. 

“Peasant, you’re leaving your food.” She calls after him and he turns around to look at her. Azula moves the cart towards him and he stops it. 

“I know.” He tells her and she rolls her eyes. 

“So, come eat it. I would hate for the royal kitchen‘s work to go to waste.” She tells him, her voice still on edge, Sokka noticed. Yet, she opened her door wider and he looks up at her with confusion. “You heard me, I am not in the mood. You’re either going to eat your dinner tonight or starve, which do you prefer?” Sokka follows her into her room. He sat near her vanity as Azula sat on her bed. He had gotten a peak into her room before and it looked nothing like the out together he was used to. Like he expected it to be. 

“Are you alright?” He asks even though he knew the answer, she was a thing but okay. 

“No talking. Just eat and leave. And this will never happen again.” Sokka quickly shuts up and begins to eat at his lukewarm food. They pair eat in silence for what seems like forever, the tension and awkwardness filled the room. Sokka didn’t know what he expected when he signed up to eat with the fallen princess but it wasn’t this. 

He quickly finished his food and watched as the princess even ate with grace, slow and carefully not to make a mess. A small chuckle left his mouth and he got a look from the princess. She shook her head and continued to eat her food, taking twice as long as he did. When Azula finally finished, the tray was returned to the cart and Sokka smiles at her. 

“What?” Azula questioned and he shrugs before shaking his head. 

“You are so proper,” He comments and she scoffs at him. 

“Well it’s better than being a snow savage. I am a princess not a peasant,” she sneers. “Now leave my room. And please keep this warning in mind that if a servant ever lets you bring me my dinner again, I’ll have their head on a platter.” She tells him and he sighs before leaving the room with the cart. 

Clearly he had a lot more work ahead of him but that didn’t mean he would stop trying. Much to Azula’s annoyance because he continued to bring her food until eventually when he got to her room, her door was already cracked for him. She didn’t get enough credit for all of the change she’s gone through, even without the help of family or friends. Changing her ways just sit alone all day seemed like a waste but she did it anyways. Sure his friends missed him at dinner but it seemed Azula needed him a bit more and even though she’d never admit it, she liked having him there with her.


	3. Exhale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I’m late but only by a few minutes this time and this one is a bit shorter but I plan on continuing it on the last prompt for this week. This is sorta inspire by the song Exhale by Sabrina Carpenter so give it a listen because it’s a beautiful song! 
> 
> Azula leaves the palace in order to find herself and while she does that, she also get an surprise guest.

She never had a chance to breathe. She was always holding everything in, never exhaling. Since she was born, she had been pulled in different directions by her mother, her father, Iroh, Zuko. Even when she thought she was making her own choices, her own decisions, her father still had the strings, he still had his influence over her. He only had the strings simply because he beat Ursa in the battle of who was going to control her. And Azula happily followed every order, took every command and confused it with praise and affection. And where did it get her? Stuck in an Asylum with a broken mind. With hallucinations and nightmares that would have soldiers crying out for their mothers. With fear that almost paralyzed her and a numbness that took over any other feeling she had She had reached her limit, she had taken everything she could but it had been too much. Too much for a fourteen year to bare alone. Too much to bare without the love of a mother or a father. 

So as soon as she could leave the palace, she did. She left in the middle of the night with one bag on her back. She knew Zuko would be perfectly fine without her, that her presence wouldn’t be missed. She had hoped at least. She needed to find herself without suffocating in that palace. Without seeing the mistakes she had made in her past. Without the constant judgment of Zuko’s judgemental friends. Without her mother constantly trying to get to know her as if she hadn’t cast Azula aside as a child. She couldn’t take it.

So she traveled the world instead. She found herself in every part of every nation she could. The new haircut made it easier to be undetected and she needed the most now since she was technically a missing woman. But even with all of that hanging over her head, she felt the most herself this way. She was free of the judgement, free of what she thought she had to be. She was able to just be herself. Able to find out where she wanted to be. 

And that’s what she did. 

She found her calling. 

She never expected gardening to be her thing. She was intelligent, a powerful bender, witty and cunning. She has so much talent that can be used but Agni decided that plants were what she needed to focus on. It all started when she visited a small village on the edge of the Earth Kingdom. She had gotten ill and needed help desperately unless she wanted to suffer until the sickness took her out. She found some kind people who clearly had never heard of her before let alone seen her. They took her in and nursed her back to health. She wanted to leave immediately after but they somehow convinced her to stay. They showed her all of the herbs and how each medicine was made and from there she started gardening. Flowers seemed to be her forte and she didn’t take long for her to catch on. The elders were quite impressed with how quickly she caught on to it. They could tell she was nobility but they never made her feel any different for it. It was like a breath of fresh air. She stayed with the village for a while, learning as much from them as she could before she moved on. 

Moving on to find her home, to find her purpose, the place she could finally exhale in.

That is until she saw the Avatar walk into her flower shop


	4. Republic Academy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A different era au, Azula is left dealing with the aftermath of her father being sent to prison and she miraculously makes a new friend.

She didn’t deserve this. She didn’t deserve to be kicked out of her home, to lose her friends, her status and power just because of her father’s actions. She didn’t deserve to be stuck with her mother while her dad was stuck in prison. And it didn’t help that she was stuck going to the same school where everyone knew what happened. Though when your father is a billionaire turned fraud, anyone would know what happened. And it didn’t help that it was all over the news. 

“Azula, make sure you take your medicine before we leave.” She hears her mother shout from the other room and she rolls her eyes. She quickly popped the two pills and swallowed them down before taking a sip of water. The stupid antidepressants the doctor prescribed her after a small breakdown were the bane of her existence. Her mother went into a frenzy after father was arrested and of course focused on how Zuko was doing, Azula clearly didn’t matter to her. And not that she’d ever tell anyone this but the taunting at school had become too much. Ty Lee and Mai were no longer her friends, their parents wouldn’t allow it and anyone else took no hesitation in making fun of her. She sat alone at the lunch tables and in the back during her classes. She wanted to avoid the glares of her classmates. Especially from Katara, the girl who thought she was so much better because her father exposed Ozai. Being tripped while walking out of class or walking down the hallway, horrible names covered her locker in sharpie, and her own brother didn’t even look at her. Not that she really cared about Zuko but still. It was more than enough to send Azula into a mental break.

So while it was a long time coming for Azula, it was a shock for Ursa to find her daughter in the bathroom, sobbing as blood ran down from the cuts on her arms and clippers to her head as she shaved off her hair. It was the first time she ever had her mother fawn over her as she rushed her to the nearest hospital. Of course the doctors diagnosed her with depression and kept there for a few days and Ursa pretended to be the perfect mother. The sight only made Azula more upset, she was And while Ursa claimed to paying more attention to her, she simply shoved the pills down her throat and moved her room downstairs. And all that did was make her feel worse, just numbing the urge to shave what hair she had left.

Azula carefully put on her wig, she’d rather be caught dead than without her hair at school. It would only fuel their fire. She grabbed her book bag and phone before leaving her room. She was greeted by her mother’s bright smile and Zuko’s glare. She shook her head as she walked right past them both and headed to the car. The ride to school was always a tense one, with Ursa and Zuko talking as if she wasn’t there and all. Her snarky comments that came out under her breath and Ursa’s scolding when she finally hears one. As usual she slams the door to the car when they arrive at Republic Academy and walks straight to her locker. She put up her things and waited in the library until her classes started. As she was walking back, she was shoulder checked by one of Zuko’s friends, effectively knocking her back a few steps. 

“Watch where you’re going bitch!” Chan shouts at her with a smirk. She ignores him and keeps walking and drops her things when he grabs her shoulder. “Hey I’m talking to you!” He shouts and she shrugs him off. 

“Oh that was you? I thought it was some piece of shit talking to me.” She says, leaving him steaming on his spot as she went to class. She only had eight hours to go and then she could be back in her room. Eight hours until she could be left alone again. School resumed normally, the usual jokes thrown her way, Zuko acting like she didn’t exist and Katara bragging about how amazing her father was. All things that made Azula sick. 

Lunch was usually the most calm of the day for her. Surprisingly she was left alone to eat her meal while everyone avoided her table like the plague. So it was very surprising when a small girl sat at her table. She took in the girl’s appearance, the short pitch black hair and piercing cloudy eyes that didn’t seem to follow Azula’s movements. 

“Why are you sitting here?” Azula asks and Toph shrugs. 

“Isn’t it lunch time? This is the cafeteria and here’s a fairly empty table so why wouldn’t I sit here.” Toph says and Azula scoffs.

“This is my table.” Azula tell her and Toph shrugs before taking a bite of her pizza. 

“Whatever you say.” Toph throws her feet up on the table, merely centimeters from Azula’s lunch and Azula frowns, a glare planted one her face and she scoots over and eats her food quietly, attempting to ignore the messy blind girl across from her. 

“How did know my table was empty?” Azula asked after a few minutes passed.

“It’s not hard, I do have other senses besides eyesight you know.” Toph said before continuing to chew loudly on her food. A few more moments of awkwardness and loud chewing pass before Toph asks a question. “By the way, why is your table empty? Nearly every other table is full,” 

“Well when your father gets sent to prison for tax fraud, people stop wanting to be associated with you.” Azula tells her and silence takes over the table again. While annoyed by her presence at first, she didn’t seem that bad. She clearly wasn’t as bad as the rest of the students here. 

“Well I’ve noticed that you wouldn’t want to be associated with a lot of people around here. You can’t be that bad.” Azula scoffs at that thought. Most people thought she was the devil’s spawn. 

“Yeah just don’t asking...literally anyone else or you might hear a different answer.” 

“Good thing I wasn’t asking anyone else.” Toph tells her and for a second Azula was tempted to smile. She could tell this girl took no shit from anyone and it reminded her of how she used to be. 

“You must be new here?” Azula asks and Toph nods. 

“Yeah I just transferred from Ba Sing Se High. My dad got a new job so here I am.” Toph answers her. 

“Well welcome to Republic Academy where the rich kids fuck with any and everyone of they aren’t up to their biased standards.” Azula says in a sickly sweet voice and Toph chuckles. 

“They can’t all be like that.”

“Trust me, I know how they are. I used to be one of them.” Azula tells her with a frown and Toph shrugs. 

“Well they won’t be messing with me. They won’t be messing with you either.” Toph tell her and Azula’s eyes narrowed at the girl. 

“I don’t need you to defend me.” She grits out and Toph nods.

“Sure you don’t but some help never hurts.” She tells her with a smile before moving to throw her trash away. 

“I don’t even know your name!” Azula calls after and Toph turns around with a smirk. 

“I’m Toph, your new friend.” She says, leaving Azula confused as she walked out of the lunch room.


	5. Sapphire Roots

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is technically day 7, I’ll post day 6 later today and just act like day five doesn’t exist for me lol but this is the Flower Shop AU and the continuation of day 3 so I hope you enjoy.

She stared at Aang in shock as he stared back with a small soft smile. It had been more than five years since she had last seen him and he definitely grew up. A thick beard covered his face and a foot of height had him towering over her. Still, he was dressed in traditional air nomad garbs and his tattoos seemed to be brighter as he stood in front of her. She quickly moved passed him to the door, flipping the open sign to the closed side before grabbing his hand and taking him up into her apartment where it would be private. She didn’t need anyone finding out who she was or that he was here. She couldn’t risk losing everything she had worked so hard to find, to build for herself. 

Aang was taken off guard by her pulling him up her stairs. He followed her into a room and watched as she frantically closed and locked the door. She turned to stare at him, shock still written all over her face. He watched the emotions as they came and went from her expressions and the one he saw the most was fear. Of course, she must be scared to death. She left the palace in the middle of the night, clearly wanting to not be found by anyone she knew. She had to have seen the missing persons and wanted posters that were posted all over the fire nation and earth kingdom, even a few in both of the water tribes just in case. But she was living right under their noses, hiding under the disguise of shortened hair and green clothing. 

“How did you find me, Avatar?” Her question came out stressed and fearful as she stared at him. 

“Zuko asked me to look around for you after he came up unsuccessful for the fourth time. I decided to look a bit closer to home than he did and I had a few samples of your handwriting. Still, it took me a few months to get a proper gauge of where you could be.” He tells her and Azula shakes her head. 

“But how did you find me here? What led you here?” She asks him and he smiles shyly at her.

“Well this was just a guess, I asked around for someone who looked like you, I left out your name of course. Most of the people I asked directed me to Sapphire Roots, good choice of words by the way. I decided to stop by just in case and here you are.” Aang tells her and she sighs.

“So what, are you here to drag me back to the palace? Because you’re going to have a hard time with that one. I’d rather die than go back to that miserable place.” She tells him firmly and Aang shakes his head. 

“That was the intention when Zuko sent me after you. He wants me to bring you back, he can’t wrap his head around you being done with the palace, with the throne.” Aang tells her honestly and Azula’s semi calm demeanor quickly starts to vibrate with anger.

“How dare he! I gave up any thoughts of the throne years ago. It I wanted what was rightfully mine, I would be on that throne right now.” It was as if was looking back in time, as if he was talking to the fourteen year old Azula that sat on the throne of the Earth Kingdom. He takes a step closer to her and she stiffens as he reaches out for her in an attempt to calm the former princess. “Don’t touch me, I’m fine. I’m just,” Azula pauses as she lets out a shaky breath and looks at the avatar. He looks at her with his soft eyes and she scoffs at him. He shouldn’t be looking at her like that, like she was some fragile thing that would break any second. “Nevermind, it doesn’t matter. So what, are you going to tell him where I am?” She asks him and he shakes his head. 

“No. I won’t do that. I...let me stay here for a few days and watch you.” He uses air quotes for the end of his sentence and she raises an eyebrow. “And then I’ll leave and tell Zuko that I had no luck finding you.” He tells her with a smile and she narrows her eyes at him. 

“Why should I believe a word you say. For all I know, when I wake up tomorrow I’ll be on top of you’re flying bison, halfway to the fire nation capital.” She says and he shakes his head. 

“You have my word.” He placed his left hand over his chest as he raised his right hand with a smile. She watched him for a moment, deciding what she should do about him. Of course he was the Avatar and she should believe him but he had never been on her side. 

“You can stay for a few days. Don’t get in my way Avatar.” She tells him, deciding to believe he was telling the truth, before going back down to continue business for the day. 

And get in her way was all he did. 

Aang asked her questions about her life and her travels. It annoyed her how much he wanted to get to know her. He started to wear her down, wall after wall, he got closer and closer. His three day stay turned into a week and from a week to months as he saw every change that Azula went through. It was even crazier to watch her work with something as delicate as flowers. He watched her as her true personality came out while helping people and tending to her garden in her free time. 

While Aang was taking in this new Azula, Azula was taking in Aang’s affection toward her. He wasn’t necessarily romantic but he was kind and gentle with her. He quickly changed his view about her and talked to her like a person. It was so much different than how anyone had ever treated her at the palace when she was there. He talked to her like he valued her opinion and what she had to say, even if he didn’t completely value her methods. Of course she could still be rude and tense, intimidating when others were on her last nerve but he stayed anyways. 

So as time went on, their relationship slowly changed for them. Early morning talks now had soft touches and glances, while during the late nights they stayed up way too late because neither wanted to stop talking to the other. Of course they were wary of what was happening, Aang was still the Avatar and had his duties to the world but when he finished there, he always came back to her. Aang would send his letters to Zuko to ‘update’ him on his search for Azula which was more like sending him lies about how he still had no clue where Azula could be. Despite them being wary, they still fell out of their platonic relationship and into a romantic one fast. It was almost seamless how fast it changed, no matter how hard they tried to keep their distance from crossing that line. 

Aang could hardly think about that as he stared at Azula while she slept. It was insane that the girl who almost killed him was the one he shared his bed with every night. The one he saw every morning and was the last person he thought of every night. She was a frustrating as she was charming and he wouldn’t want it any other way. He smiled before kissing the woman on her forehead before heading downstairs. He wanted to check on the flower quickly before she was awake. As soon as Aang made it downstairs he heard a knock at the door. Everyone in the village knew that the shop didn’t open for a few more hours so he went to see who it could be. Possibly someone from out of town who had no clue. When he peeked through the window, his heart dropped.

It was Zuko. 

Shit, Aang thought. He had been careful, sending Zuko letters from his other travels so he couldn’t be traced to the shop. So no one could find the shop. He knew how much it meant to Azula to keep her life private. Nerves ran through Aang as he decided on what he needed to do. 

“Zuko, this is a surprise.” Aang says as he opens the door. He hoped he could send Zuko away before Azula got up. He wanted to buy them some time, enough for Azula to take in the news. 

“Where have you been all this time. It’s been months, we started to worry someone kidnapped you and were faking your letters.” Zuko says as he hugs his best friend. 

“I’ve been all over. I’m fine.” It wasn’t a complete lie.

“Still no luck on Azula?” Zuko asks and before Aang could respond, a voice interrupted them. 

“Avatar, the flowers will be fine for a few more hours. Come back to bed.” Azula called from upstairs. 

Zuko looked as if his world had crashed in front of him. Aang felt ice fill his veins and Azula was completely oblivious to life as she knew it falling apart with two small sentences.


End file.
